Plow



- Feb. 27, 1940.

PLOW

Filed May 21, 1958 I N VEN TOR. 64/94 6. J77B4/VDL U/VD ATTORNEYS 0. 3.STRANDLUND 4 2,191,929

. Patented Feb .'2 7 1 v i r W t aw I scene. Strandlund, Moline, 111,;as'signer to Deere & Company, Moline, 111.; Jafoorpp'rati'on. 1 ofIllinois A pnmmm'y 211', 1sss, ,siie1fNb. 2095 217 15 Claims. (01:97-127) The present invention relatesto gauging means its waydeeperbe wthe i d ep h, the -l forlcontrolling the workingdepth of, plows and csspriessureon t e' auee Wheel c es. t e at. a, Y has as itsprincipalobject, the 'provisionzofia new ter to swingjllpwardly aboutthe pivotal conneo-f. and' improved gauge wheel device for holding tioniorcing therear furrow wheel'downwardly 5, the rearwardmost plow body ofa gang plow belowthepoint of the plow. This exertsalift to aoonstantpredetermined working deptnunder ing fipreeongthe; plow bottom,gradually raising l all working conditions.- More specifically,"itfl is;the la ter tilthe excesspressure on the gau e. e the. ob-jectof thepresent invention to provide: I wheel-is,;rel iev a v -j v au ewheelmeans adapt d to .maintaina unin th 'qbl c he p nt tion is 1 a .10formdepth of plowing in soft; ground conditions provide gauge Wheelmeans adapted to ride over y wheres the.conventionalgaug wh el ha te dobstacles sueh as rocks or logs ithmitwrenchmay to dig into the'softsurface and, s'ocalise l hgp w t 01.113 ft e 0 am gi gthe low point torun deepen. a q the, pp rtingstructure." Should the gauge w 1 Heretoforea certainampunt of difilcultyhas wheel runj over suoh an obstacle,theresultingi" been experienced in holding the rear end Qf a, suddenupward thrust is dissipated throughv the .15.

gang plow to a constantwprking;depth espe i uy furrow wheel which istoned down into; the sof't, U y

' when the ground is soft, and thisbecomesmore Sbfl i he b t m Of the I'W I a pronounced as the number Offp1QW;bQdieS i in.. other object of thepresent invention isato creased." The irontend of theplow is firrnly-held lilO'i idengalig g im {W c nimize the"ef v to, the desired wqrkingd pth, b mg jp -t d I feet of uneveny s'u'rfacefconditions on..plow ing"2 o v on thefur'row wheel andland wheelas" wfellas d p h l -1 plow313130111136v l v by the draft connection ori thetraw whef 'g form depthover even themost extrer'n'e. corrue the overhanging rear'end of the.plow depends I gatedsurface; This is accomplished in'th'epresfor-itssupporton arelatively s gll f w" ent, invention by'the' pivotalconnection of the a 5 wheel trailing nd th i a p 'bo m wheelfsupportember'intermediate its end tto some. instance on auxiliary gauge 1 the"plo|v\ bearnfjor' other? structural element disposed adjacent the rearend of the implement. Thus; w e h e wheel rides'ovel' risxin 1'Normally, the" influence of the rearxfurrow P 6 g u j h 7 flJiTOW w eacts 3, 9i wheelalone on the working depth ofv its asso Q T he; P bodyis raised only so c'iated plow bodyrisneg'ligible since" the -wheelt inj Q th distance he au w e ri 3 I bears uponthe bottom of. the. furrowjustopened t i qt e Object is to ov e "an e zv'the' mew share and a Ythepoint of, the plow ensiv eesilrmanufacwred device for r dgoes deeper,the furrow wheel merely follows it f if the gauge Wheel crank axle. downn" er furfow I W1 h the iurrow'wheel crank axle, said device bevonthe'othe'r hand, the: operation of the con- I i fe' e bl ilr a fiangular i s m '3 vventicinal gauge wheel whichis fixed in. position I; wthe'two 1 Thel c i e t of relative to the point of the 'plowdepends; toa thlsfoblejctis attained by using two clamping large extent, upon thecondition of the surface, of t-fib r a n cooperating d, surfacesv t heunbroken ground upon which it runs and if with; Ivy-relative ota h t e nafford 40 the ground is too sdfttqsu p'ort the wheel, the 1 o r tivey-coarse angular. adjust b 40, latter tends to Sink vandethelrebyy causethe tween the axles equal in angular extent to one plow to dig deeper.Intheaceomplishment of r eth onlthe c m surfaces- Surple-- a theaforementioned objects; therefore, I' have "mellting this Coarseadlllstment'is arrang e- .provided a furrow'wheel 'and algauge'wheel inent' -w h: -p'e m s fi e angular s ent fore and aft spaced relation;both-wheels being between the axles of less th'anthe width of one 45carried'on the equivalent'of'apcommonsupport tooth. '1. n l i memberwhich is 'pivotally connected interme- 1 These and oth r j ts andadvanta es of the diate its ends to the vplowheamb r other strucp se tsn W pp t afti' tural member; With" this" cradleetype gaugeconsiderationof the following detailed description wheel structurethedownward pressure of; the of the-preferred structural embodimentthereof 5 plow is proportionally" distributed; between the :together:with the appended drawing inwhich; two wheels,thereby reducing'thepressurepon the Figured is -aside elevation of the rear plc w 1 gaugewheel and enabling the latter to operate bodjiof a gang; plow embodyinggauging means on soft ground without sinking into an undeillustratingthe principles offmy;invention;

95' b ex n he t ep ewtends t wor .7 fi ure aisalan w o h s m strucFigure 3 is a sectioned detail view takeni'along the line 33 of Figure 1showing'the device used for adjusting the position of the gauge wheelwith respect to the rear furrow wheel; and

Figure 4 isa view taken along of Figure 3. i

-Referring now to the drawing, l represents the rear end of a fore andaft extending draft beam of rectangular cross section comprising aportion of the supporting frame work of'a' gang plow, the forwardend'ofwhich is connected to l a tractor (not shown) in a manner wellknown to those skilled in the art. At the rear end of the beam 58 isdisposed a conventional .moldboard, plow bottom ll mounted on apldwstandj ard or too-lshank l2 which is'formd'ofa steel beam ofrectangular cross section similar to:

the draft beam Ill but of greater lateralthickness to withstand thebending stresses imposed upon it during plowing. The tool shank I2 is irigidly connected to the draft beam ill-by means of a bracket member,indicated-in its entirety by the reference numeral [3. This bracket,which 1 is shown and described in detail in my co-pending application,Serial No. 140,332, filed May 3,1937, comprises, briefly, a heavyhollow; casting of 1 generally triangular shape the interior of which,is formed to provide two angularly disposed intersecting sockets adaptedto receive adjacentj ends of the associated draft beam I0 and tool ,1standard l2, respectively, as shown in the drawj ing, The beam I0 issecured inits socket by means of two bolts M,-while'the'tool standardspindleil supported in a fixed position in a wheel 1 support 22, thelatterbeing preferably formed'as a casting, The wheel support. 22 isswiveled on r the vertically disposed portion 'of a crankaxl '12 issecured to its respectivesocket by-three -bolts'; l5,,l6 and l1. v v

'Disposed behind the plow bottom is a rear furrow wheel 20 which isjournaled ona wheel 123 which is bent forwardly and'is providedfat'itsfforward end with a transversely disposed spindleld'swingablymounted in a bearing sleeve i I The rear 1 furrow wheel 20and'supporting structure, includ-' 215 formed on a frame member 26.

mg the frame member, 26, are shown and, de-

"scribed'in full detail in my co pen'ding applicatron, Serial No.159,933, filed August 19, 1937,

, tion. l

The mechanism employed for locking the rear v '5 furr Wh l, a n c t inswhen t ow is'in operating position and for, raising the rear a bellcrank member 33 which is pivotally mount- 1 end of the plow to transportposition, comprises ed on a transverse bearing spindle 34Ffixed on theend of the frame member 26. One arm of the bell crank-member 33 isforked at'35 to receive 11a roller- 36 whichengages the uppersurface ofjfthe forwardly inclined portionof the axle 23. A

, roller 40 is journaledon the other arm 4| of the bell crank 33 andis'adapted to be received by a forkedmem'berfl on thewheel support-22when the line 4-4 well known manner.

the'plow is lowered'into operative position as shown in Figures 1 and 2.When the roller 40,

is so engaged by the forked member 42, the Wheel 20 is locked againstlateral swinging and isadapted to carry the landside pressure of "the fA lever 43, secured in a socket formed plow. in the bell crank 33andrp'rojecting upwardly therefrom, connected thrgugh suitable'linkagewith the lifting mechanism (nOt' shOWn) whichis used to' raise andlower" the plow.

The depth at which theplowbottom H, oper- -ates is determined by a-gaugewheel which is journaled on the end of a crank axle 46 in any orshallower plowing throughthe agency of a locking device 58 disposed onthe end of the Crank'axle 46'is rigidly Q connectedto the rearfurrowwheel axle 23 and is angularly adju'stable relative thereto fordeeper spindle 24. The latter extends'beyond the bear ing sleeve 25 andis provided with a tapered polyhedral portionf 44, preferably square asv shown, and having a threaded-stud 41 projecting co-axially from theend thereof. 3

v The locking device I 50 comprises a bushing member 5| having: atapered square aperture 52 adapted to receive the squared portion 44 ofthe spindle. 24.

provided with teeth 53' extending along'the length thereof.--'Ihenumberof teeth 53 may be either ,odd or evem but"inorder to securean-angular,

The outer surface of the member I .t l' is tapere'din theform of afrustum and is adjustment between axles 46 and 23 o'f'less thanthe-width of onetooth,:--it"is necessary that the number be notevenly-divisible by the number inner toothed surface adapted'tocooperate with the conical ftoothed surface of the bushingm'em ber{El-is fixed to theend of the axle 46. Prefer:

ably, -'although not necessarily, the socket member i .offaces of thespindle portion 44,'i. e., four in the embodiment shown anddescribedherein.

A; complementary sp'cketfmember 54 having an molten metal-has beenfiowed to secure 'a welded to receivethe' endofthe axle lfi and havingaper- I turesiil through opposite sides thereof into which connection.The socket-member iswedged onto thetapered-b'ushin'g "member 5i and'held in position by means of awasher 56, lock washer and nut 6i,"the'latter being in threaded 'en- The pth ofplowingis' regulated byadjusting gagement with "the stud 41.

angle ofthe crank axle 46fre1ative togthe crankaxle"23'. Inasmuch as theposition of the furrow wheel 20 ismnormally fixed with; respect tofthepointj'of the plow, it follows that any change inithe anglejbetweencrankaxles 46 and 1 23" has. the effect of changin the,v ertical"positiorib'fthe gaugewhjeel 45'relative'to the plow bottom} I. ,j-Thus,{.byf increasing the. anglebetween crankQaxles 4,6; and 23 the-f gaugewheel 45 is raised'relativeto the point of the plow,

flit

. eu fi' .i i iplwl i n e er o n the auge wheel again intowcontact withthe ground L kewise decIeaSm theangle between crank l sd crx'easesth plwing depth. a Y

, -,Qoarse angular adjustment within the. Iv

ofx-onetooth 53yof thecrank axle 46 relative to the crank axle 23secured by removing the washer .56',*' withdrawing-the socketmember 54from its-toothed engagement' with the member '51, and' swihging-the"crankaxle 46 tothe desired position 'bef ore'clampin'g' thllockingmember 50 together againi When'itisdesiredto adjust the breakamaze"through 'a smaller angle than the as i the teeth 53.

width of one tooth, adjustment is made in the following manner: I I

The crank axle M5 is first adjusted to the closest position possible,relative to the crank axle: 23,

bythe-coarse adjustment described above. Assume now that it is desiredto effect an additional angular adjustment in a'clockwise direction tothe extent of one-quarter ofthe width of oneof The socket member 54 isthen withdrawn from the bushing member 5! and the latter removed fromthe end of the squared shaft portion 2d, turned through .a quarter turn,and rep-laced on the squared end of the shaft. The socket member 5d isagain engaged with the member 5 l being now advanced by one-quarter ofthe width of one of the teeth 53 from its original position. Similarly,to secure an angular adjustment equal to half the width of a tooth, themember 5! is turned through a half turn before being replaced on thesquared portion 24, and for either odd or even, not evenly divisible bythe number of faces on the shaft. 7

The operation of my gauging device is as follows:

When the plow is in normal operative position, as illustrated in Figurel, the point of the plow and the contact point of the rear furrow wheel2!! lie in substantially the same horizontal plane, while the gaugewheel bears upon the surface of the ground to the land side of the plowbottom H. The furrow wheel 20 is locked against castering by theengagement of the roller with the fork 132. and both furrow wheel andgauge wheel bear a portion of the weight, or downward pressure of theplow bottom 5 i. When theplow tends to suck in below the desired depth,the gauge wheel 55 rises relative to the plow body H r0- tating thespindle 24 and pushing the rear furrow wheel 2% below the point of theplow. The plow will then rise gradually until the excess pressure on thetwo wheels is relieved.

Should the gauge wheel at pass over a sudden rise in the ground or anobstacle such as a log or rock, it will swing upwardly on it's axle 46aboutthe pivot provided by the spindle'24. This, in turn, causes thefurrow wheel axle 23 to swing downwardly, pushing the rear wheel 20below the point of the plow bottom H. By thus dissipating in the softsoil of the furrow bottom the sudden upward thrusts exerted by suchobstacles on the gauge wheel 65;, the effect of the disturbance on theplow body H is minimized and the bottom of the furrow is maintainedrelatively level with respect to the general contour of the ground.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a plow having a frame and a furrow forming sharesupported thereon,

of depth gauging means comprising a wheel supporting member pivotallyconnected to said frame for vertical swinging, and extending rearwardlytherefrom, a furrow wheel journaled on said member and positioned to runin the furrow formed by said share, a second wheel supporting verticalswinging and extending forwardly therefrom, a gauge wheel journaled onsaid second member and positioned to run on the unbroken ground, andmeans interconnecting said wheel supporting members whereby swingingmovement of one of the members causes the other of said members to swingin the opposite direction. I

2. The combination with a plow having a supporting structure and afurrow forming tool fixed thereto, of depth gauging means comprising awheel supporting member journaled on said supporting structureforxswinging about a transverse axis, said wheel supportingmember-having a forwardly extending portion and a rearwardly extendingportion arranged on opposite sides of the axis thereof, a gauge wheeljournaled on said forwardly extending portion and positioned to run onthe unbroken ground,.and a furrow wheel journaled on said rearwardlyextending portion and disposed behind said tool to run in the furrowformed thereby. Y

3. The combination with a plow having a sup; porting structure and afurrow forming tool fixed thereto, of depth gauging means comprising acrank axlejournaled on said supporting structure for rotation about atransverse axis and extending rearwardly therefrom, a furrow wheeljournaled-on said crank axle and positioned to run behind said tool inthe furrow formed thereby, a second crank axle fixed to said first namedcrank axle and extending forwardly from said transverse axis, and agauge wheel'journaled on said second crank axle and disposed to run onthe unbroken land adjacent said tool.

4. The combination with a plow having a supporting structure and afurrow forming tool fixed thereto, of depth gauging means comp-rising acrank axle having a transverse'spindle portion journaled on saidsupporting structure, said crank axle extending rearwardly from saidspindle portion, a rear furrow wheel journaled on said crank axle anddisposed to run in the furrow formed by said tool, a second crank axlefixed to said spindle portion and extending forwardly there from, agauge wheel journaled on said second crank axle and positioned to run onthe unbroken ground, and means for varying the angular relation betweensaid crank axles.

5. In combination. with a plow having a furrow forming share and asupporting member, rear furrow wheel disposed behind said share andpositioned to run in the furrow formed thereby, a. crank axle journaledon said wheel and having a transverse. spindle portion journaled on saidsupporting member, a gauge wheel disposed ahead of said transversespindle and adapted to run on the unbroken ground adjacent said share, acrank axle journaled on said gauge wheel, and means for clamping saidsecond named crank axle to the spindle portion of said first named crankaxle in different angular positions.

6. Clamping means comprising, in combination membe'r' pivotallyconnected to said frame for provided at one end with a transversespindle having a polyhedral shaft portion with n faces of equal width,means for rotatably mounting said spindle on said frame, a wheeljournaled on said crank axle, a second crank axle extending from saidspindle in angular relation to said first named crank axle, a secondwheel journaled on said second crank axle, and means for clamping saidcrank axles together in different angular positions comprising a socketmember fixed to said second crank axle and having an inner toothedsurface, a complementary bushing memher having a toothed outer surfaceadapted 'to cooperate with said inner toothed surface, each of saidmembers having a number of teeth not evenly divisible by n, said bushingmember having a socket portion adapted to be received on said polyhedralshaft portion in any of several angular positions relative thereto -sothat said bushing member may be rotated relative to said socket memberthrough an angular extent equal to 360/12 degrees, and means forclamping said complementary members together with their teethinterlocked. 1

8. The combination with a first member provided with a tapered shaftportion having a plurality of angularly disposed faces of equal width,and a second member adapted to be mounted on said first member indifferent angular positions,

of means for connecting said members together comprising a bushinghaving an aperture adapted to receive said tapered shaft portion in anyof several angular positions relative thereto, said bushing having atapered outer surface provided with a number of teeth not evenlydivisible by the number of faces on said tapered shaft portion, saidsecond member having a socket por--- tion adapted to receive saidbushing and provided with teeth adapted to interlock with said bushingteeth, and means for clamping said first member, said bushing, and saidsecond member together.

9. In combination with an implement including a frame and a furrowforming tool supporting shank fixed thereto, a furrow wheel disposedbehind said shank to run in the furrow formed by the tool supported onsaid shank, a second wheel spaced in a fore and aft direction from saidfurrow wheel and disposed to run on the unbroken land, a supportingmember interconnecting said wheels, and means, intermediate the axes ofsaid wheels, for pivotally connecting said supporting member to saidframe adjacent said tool supporting shank.

10. In combination with an implement including a furrow forming tool, afurrow wheel disposed behind said tool. to run in the furrow formedthereby and connected to'said irnplement by means permitting verticalmovement relative thereto, a gauge wheel positioned to run on theunbroken land and connected to said implement for vertical movementrelative thereto,-means interconnecting said gauge wheel and said furrowwheel whereby vertical movement of one of said wheels relative to saidimplement causes the other of said wheels to be moved in the oppositedirection, and means for adjusting both of said wheels verticallyrelative to said implement for adjusting the depth of saidfurrow,

11; In combination with a plow having a frame and a furrow forming sharesupported thereon, a furrow wheel disposed behind said share to run inthe furrow formedthereby, a gauge wheel positioned to run on theunbroken land'adjacent said share and appreciably ahead of said furrowwheel, a supporting member inter-' connecting said wheels and havingmeans disposed between the axes of said wheels for pivotally connectingsaid supporting member to said plow frame, and means for adjusting thevertical position of said gauge wheel relative to said furrow wheel forregulating the depth of said furrow.

12. In combination with an implement having a frame, a furrow formingtool mounted thereon, a wheel support connected with said frame forrocking movement about a horizontal axis, a

gauge wheel journalled on said support to one side of said axis anddisposed to run on the unbroken ground, a rear furrow wheel journaled onsaid support on the other side of said axis and disposed to run in thefurrow behind said tool, and

means for varying the position of said gauge wheel journaled on saidsupport to the rear of said axis and disposed to run in the furrowbehind said tool, and means for varying the angular relationship betweensaid transverse axis and the axes of said wheels.

14. A pair of members, means for connecting them together indifferentangular relation comprising a bushing element having a toothed outersurface, a complementary socket element adapted to receive said bushingelement and I having a toothed inner surface adapted to cooperate withsaid toothed outer surface, one of said elements being fixed to one ofsaid members,

means for mounting the other of said toothed.

elements on the other of said members in any of n equally spaced angularpositions, each of said toothed elements having a certain number ofteeth not evenly divisible by n, and means for clamping said elementstogether with their teeth interlocking.

15. In combination with a member having a polyhedral shaft portionprovided with 71. faces of equal width, and a second member adapted tobe connected with said first named member in different angular positionsrelative thereto, means for connecting said members comprising twocomplementary toothed elements adapted to be clamped together indifferent angular positions with their teeth interlocked, each of saidelements having a number of teeth not evenly divisible by n, one of saidelements being secured to said second member, means formounting theother of said elements on the polyhedral shaft portion of said firstnamed member in any of several angular positions relative thereto spaced360/n degrees apart, and means for securing said members together withsaid toothed elements in interlocking engagement.

- CARL G. s'mANnLUNn;

